Dr. Hawley Griffin
"Aheheh. You can't please everyone, can you?" Dr. Hawley George Griffin is a disapparative biochemist, or in his words, an optical fragmenter. His primarily field is in that of optics, focusing on invisibility. He currently resides in the former billiards room of the Society of Arcane Sciences, attempting to create a perfected serum to turn humans invisible. He can physically be described as tall, lanky, gangling; with whitened hair, dull blue eyes and a bony face. Personality wise he is rude, obnoxious, selfish, intelligent and more importantly, cunning. Unfortunately for him, he's also too clever by half, and mistakes kindness for weakness. Hawley Griffin is the creator of a formula that can turn one invisible. On his quest to create such a formula, he has killed, injured and hurt many people to achieve his goals. He may not be physically imposing, but an invisible man, a cunning one at that, can do a great many things in a fight. Biography Born somewhere in Sussex during the mid-1850s, Hawley Griffin had an early fascination with optical illusions, and often visited the county fair with his mother to see the many wonders that magicians created. In his early twenties during university years, Griffin met Arthur Kemp, a young student and acquaintance of Griffin's father. Becoming friends, the two decided to make a name for themselves. Both studying optics, Kemp came up with a bizarre idea to turn something invisible. Griffin was initially hesitant, but eventually agreed when Kemp mentioned having unassailable resources at their disposal. Soon after, the two had a heated argument, leading Griffin to steal the pair's research, and left his university to study on his own. Over the next twenty years, Griffin became secluded in a rented house in Iping, West Sussex, to continue his research on his own. Jekyll's Letter In early 1895, Griffin received a letter from Dr. Henry Jekyll, proposing for Griffin to be a part of the Society for Arcane Sciences, which Griffin initially refused. Seeing that Jekyll had intimate knowledge of his work, Griffin decided to conduct some research of his own. Heading to the University of Edinburgh, Griffin found that Jekyll was performing unusual experiments with potions and serums. Griffin wrote back to Jekyll, declining the proposal. Jekyll's Visit Griffin continued with his experiments, but later found that he was being watched, and found a strand of blonde hair from his observer. Griffin then received a letter from Jekyll, proposing that they should meet face-to-face. Though refusing, Griffin acknowledged that it would allow him to find out the incident at the University. Griffin sent an acceptance letter, and Jekyll went to Sussex. Arriving at Griffin's secluded home, Jekyll explained the basics of the Society, and that Griffin would be allowed plenty of funding for his research, recognizing Griffin's monetary strains. Griffin agreed. Settling In at the Society Arriving in London, Griffin employed Thomas Marvel, a petty thief, to follow Jekyll wherever he goes, as a precaution. Marvel was also employed by another scientists, "some bearded man with a sickly face". Arriving at the Society, Griffin was given a tour by Jekyll, showing him his rooms: a former billiards room, neighboring Dr. Maijabi and Mr. Luckett. At one point, Griffin intentionally insulted the Lodgers, but was firmly reprimanded by Jekyll. “I’d prefer it Dr. Griffin, if you didn’t insult your fellow colleagues. A lot of these people had to be pulled right off the street, and I would appreciate if you didn’t take that fact as a negative. No one here will try to copy, extort or steal your research. Privacy is adamant here, but I can’t stop everyone from showing others what they’ve created.” As Jekyll walked away, Griffin attempted to ask what Jekyll's research was, but was rejected. Griffin also met Oliver Dawlish, an astronomer who had recently settled at the Society. Dawlish held the same beliefs and philosophies as Griffin, and so got along well. Marvel's Break In After Griffin's luggage was brought in by Jekyll's associate Hyde, he met up with Marvel to see what he had found. Marvel found nothing of significance. When Marvel asked for pay, Griffin refused, as he had brought nothing of interest. Though Marvel agreed, Griffin could sense that Marvel would soon become a threat. Griffin then suggested that Marvel break into Jekyll's private quarters at the Society to see what he could find. After a week of silence, Griffin woke up one morning to find Jekyll on a "tirade" and claiming that his papers were stolen. Meeting up with Marvel, Griffin found that Jekyll was in financial strains as well, but it didn't concern him. Marvel reveals he also stole some documents relating to Jekyll's work, but demands an extra sum for the valuable documents. Griffin buys them off him. The Cipher and the Cryptographer After making a rat permanently invisible, Griffin found that Jekyll's documents were in a cipher, and able to crack with a five-letter keyword. Consulting a cryptographer, Professor Edward Prendick, Griffin claims to him that he found the documents when asked for an explanation. Soon after, Prendick contacts Griffin to announce that he managed to crack the code with the keyword "Louis". Visiting him, Griffin discovered that Prendick had burned the translation in horror. Angry by Prendick's foolishness, Griffin took back Jekyll's documents and eventually decides to give back the documents to Jekyll when discovering that "Louis" was not the keyword, and that Prendick has seemingly fled. Asking Marvel to stage another break-in, Griffin is asked for a hefty sum, which he gives without question. Jekyll also demands that Griffin show what he has done with his time at the Society. Jekyll seemed impressed with the results, asking Griffin as to how the rats turn visible. Griffin replies that the rats have to die first to become visible. Marvel's Demise Marvel successfully managed to give back Jekyll's notes without suspicion, though was chased on a rooftop by "a man with blonde hair", which leads Griffin to suspect Hyde was involved. Knowing that Hyde must've spied on him in Sussex, Griffin attempts to bring it up with Jekyll. Though Jekyll apologizes, Griffin comes to believe that Jekyll and the Lodgers are attempting to steal his research. After a few experiments on cats, Griffin is visited by Marvel, who blackmails into giving him money when he threatens to tell Jekyll what Griffin ordered him to do. Griffin complies. Meeting up with Marvel near the Thames, Griffin force feeds him a new compound of invisibility formula, which does turn Marvel invisible, but turns him insane. Griffin manages to push him into the Thames, and Marvel presumably drowns. Before Griffin leaves, he was caught by Hyde, who was following Marvel after the break-in. In exchange for silence, Hyde demands the first capable batch of the formula. The next day, Griffin reads in the newspaper that Marvel's dead body was found in the Thames. Griffin also meets Jasper Kaylock, who Griffin sees as a "paradigm for future research". Griffin writes in his journal that he needs to test on a living human again, and that he may have to lobotomize the subject in order to prevent insanity. Griffin then considers using Prendick or Hyde. In the final entry of Griffin's journal, it appears that Hyde has taken possession of it, and thus knows of Griffin's secrets. The Murder at the Society While looking for his journal, Griffin heard a scream from in the Main Hall of the building. Investigating, Griffin found Dawlish dead on the floor of the Hall. Dawlish had fallen from the highest balcony of the Hall. Believing that Hyde was responsible for Dawlish's death, Griffin investigated with Steinmetz, interviewing a young chemist who saw the death firsthand. Lewis B. Weir arrived on the scene, and Griffin decided find Hyde with Weir, taking the latest batch of invisibility formula with him (that lasts over two hours). Investigating various lodgings and restaurants, Griffin and Weir found that Hyde had joined a brawl and left with "a few companions" to the Velvet Orchid or the Rose Vivante. Going to the brothel, the Madame revealed that Hyde had come in with two people, identified as "Adrienne" and "Roger". The Madame also revealed that they had dined at the Rose Vivante. Going there, Weir asked a waiter, Alexandre, about Hyde. Alexandre revealed the man was of a capricious temperament, just as likely to throw a punch as to laugh at a bawdy joke. He could be raucous, jovial, or spoiling for a fight, sometimes all three in turn. He was, according to Alexandre, not a man one should wish to cross. The waiter did, however, give Lewis the names of two associates Hyde had mentioned in passing: Miss Harrison, of Wapping, and one Lee Feng of Limehouse. Griffin however, under the invisibility potion, broke into the Vivante manager's office and interrogated the manager, Pierre Sartre. Pierre, thinking some ghost or fiend was at hand, told Hawley everything he knew while asking God to save him from this supernatural threat. Though Pierre didn't know who Hyde was beyond a patron of the restaurant, Griffin nevertheless tortured him and, after that, beat him to a pulp and left him for dead. When Hawley and Lewis left the restaurant, Weir noticed that Griffin had blood on his knuckles. Weir gave Griffin the names, but claimed that he couldn't go along any further, as he had patients to attend to in the morning. Griffin accepted without remorse. Lewis, meanwhile, waited until Hawley left and then went back to the Rose Vivante to see if he could help Pierre. Unfortunately, Weir sensed the moment he walked in that Pierre had expired, the latter's life energy gone only to be replaced with the metaphysical stench of death. This utterly unnecessary murder on Griffin's part would later come back to bite him, as, unbeknownst to him, Pierre was the sickly son of Roland Sartre, head of the infamous Marseilles mafia. Roland later learned of Hawley's role in the death of his only child, and vowed revenge. The Bomb at The Quenched Thirst All the guests within the Society were invited to a special dining event at an alleyway restaurant called The Quenched Thirst. Griffin, having not had a proper meal in a few days, decided to go, as did many of the people that were invited. Griffin was confused as to who organised the event, but eventually said he thought that it must've been Jekyll. Greeted by a waiter, Griffin settled into his seat at one of the tables, the Chemistry table, one of three others: Biology, Physics and Other. While seated, Hawley took the opportunity to hit on Elaina Hyde in front of Helen Jekyll and to purposefully re-open Lewis Weir's wound under the table, where no one could see, as Lewis was seated next to him. After the other guests arrived, including Steinmetz, Griffin seemingly began to grow suspicious of the waiter and cook, as the rest of the guests orders were taking too long. Due to his supposed suspicion as well as his wish to avoid repercussions for his actions at the table, Hawley got up to "investigate" in the kitchen, and saw that there was a bomb in one of the saucepans, the staff was gone. In truth, Hawley had been working with Moriarty as his man on the inside of the Society for Arcane Sciences and had coordinated with him to set the whole thing up. Griffin used the opportunity to try to make himself look like a hero, with the aim of securing the lodgers' trust in spite of his previous, reprehensible actions. Hawley called for everyone to evacuate, but no one believed him. Hela, in fact, had followed him to the kitchen with the aim of stabbing him in the neck with her fork. It wasn't until Lewis followed Hela, saw the bomb for himself, and yelled for everyone to leave because there was a bomb and they'd been set up that the lodgers listened. Hawley, meanwhile, had slipped out the back. He saw that the waiter and the cook were getting into a carriage. Running over to them, Griffin was placed at gunpoint and forced into the carriage. Griffin noticed that Steinmetz was following the carriage. After the cook revealed too much of where Griffin was going, the waiter shot the cook in the head, explaining that he was telling Griffin too much. All of this, however, was a ruse, to make Hawley look innocent in case anyone had followed the carriage. Griffin was led to a park within London, but not before finding out who the waiter was, a man named Sebastian Moran. Being told to go into the park, Griffin was met by Professor James Moriarty. Moriarty, unaware the majority of the Society still distrusted Hawley, congratulated him on a job well done. Moriarty called Steinmetz, who had been hiding nearby, to come forward. Moriarty explains that he wishes for the two of them to gather four pieces of research: Jekyll's, Nicholas D. Bryson's, Jasper Kaylock's and Griffin's own research. Moriarty doesn't explain as to why, but does explain that if they refuse, then Nicolette (one of Fiona's friends) will be killed and Griffin himself will be killed. Moriarty also reveals that he had two men survey the Society already; Sanderson Atlas, a thief, and Lutwidge Coin, a health inspector. Moriarty leaves, expecting the pieces in a week's time at an address. Griffin initially "confides" to Steinmetz that he'll refuse, while Steinmetz, under the threat of Moriarty killing Nicolette, appears determined to get them. The two seemingly part on bad terms. Though Hawley cares nothing for the people of the Society, he still wants to be perceived well. He privately considers betraying Moriarty, simply because he dislikes being controlled and doesn't wish to give away his own research. Another Invisible Man Griffin is told by Jekyll to have a week off away from the Society, as he has become increasingly paranoid and fearful due to Moriarty's threats. While Griffin is away in Devon, Jonathan Cheshire, a "gentleman thief", breaks into Griffin's office and takes one of his formulas; believing that if he becomes invisible then he will be able to be more notorious. The formula Cheshire ingests, however, is a undiluted compound of the formula, meaning that he will invisible forever. As such, Cheshire is forced to leave his wife, his home and his entire life. Later Events Eventually, Hawley Griffin did indeed betray the entire Society to Moriarty, endangering everyone's lives. Subsequently, he was captured by Lewis Weir--despite Ariadne Radcliffe's attempts to help Hawley escape and evade Lewis. Weir delivered Griffin to Roland Sartre. Roland took his revenge on Hawley for the senseless murder of Pierre: Griffin was tortured, then left to expire in a room that served as an oubliette. Hawley's remains were subsequently disposed of. Personality Though Griffin is certainly an intelligent rogue scientist, the "rogue" part seems to stick out the most. Griffin doesn't play by the rules, and will harm or even kill anyone to obtain what he wants. In truth, he's a psychopath, and a paranoid one, at that. Griffin is very secretive with his work and will stop at nothing to make sure no one copies his notes and steals his prospective fame. Believing that Dr. Henry Jekyll is simply attempting to steal his work (further exemplified by Hyde wanting the first batch of the invisibility formula), Griffin often hides himself away in his room while performing his grueling experiments on rats that infested his Sussex home. Because of this, many of his fellow Lodgers believe him to be a recluse. Despite hiring thief Thomas Marvel to obtain Jekyll's notes, Griffin despises thieves, especially Fiona Steinmetz, who broke his nose in two places when she slammed a door in his face after he tried to pursue her at gunpoint because she stole from him. Griffin has never forgiven her, and often fantasizes about gutting her one day. Even Griffin himself was a thief, as he stole his and Arthur Kemp's notes on invisibility, but comes to wish he hadn't done so, not out of any love for Kemp, but because it would've taken less time with the pair working together. As time grew on with his time at the Society, Griffin came to take a liking to Dr. Maijabi, partly because he found their intellects to be on par, but mostly because the mirrors in Maijabi's quarters allowed Griffin to see the rats he made invisible. As Dr. Maijabi put it, "Griffin is likable, if by likable you mean you like people who are often mean to you for no reason". Even though Griffin was often found irritating and unlikable by the Society, he was still tolerated due to his legitimate field of study. Despite this, Griffin became a partial friend to Oliver Dawlish, an astronomer, because of their shared philosophies. Relationships * Dr. Henry Jekyll - 'Though Griffin initially respects him for his intellect, Griffin comes to suspect Jekyll for knowing too much about him, and thinks that he's attempting to steal his research. In truth, Jekyll simply wants an update on Hawley's research, as he would with any other lodger. After hiring Marvel to steal Jekyll's notes, Griffin finds that they're in a cipher. Using Prendick to translate them, Griffin discovers that Prendick burned the translation in horror. Because of this, Griffin comes to suspect Jekyll is hiding more than he could imagine. ' ' * '''Edward Hyde - '''Though only encountering him once, Griffin still hears of Hyde's exploits and is curious by them. After discovering that Hyde was spying on him in Sussex, Griffin knows that he can't be trusted. Hyde chases Marvel after the second break-in, but narrowly loses him. After finding and following Marvel, Hyde finds Griffin meeting him. Witnessing Griffin murdering Marvel, Hyde sees an opportunity. In return for silence, Hyde demands that Griffin give him the first capable batch of invisibility formula. Hyde also steals Griffin's journal and writes in it. Remarkably, Hyde is simply going to extreme measures to get an update on Griffin's research, which Hawley, out of paranoia, refused to give to Jekyll. * '''Dr. Maijabi - '''Being Griffin's neighbor, Maijabi often had to put up with Griffin. But eventually, Griffin took a liking to him and they became colleagues. Griffin was particularly interested by Maijabi's mirrors, which helped him see his invisible test rats. * '''Fiona Steinmetz - '''First meeting her at the Valentine's Day Ball, which he declined to attend, Griffin found her attempting to steal his belongings. Holding her at gunpoint, Griffin initially wanted to use her as a test subject, but decided to hand her over to the police after finding out that people would miss her (unlike Marvel). After an encounter with Maijabi, Fiona hid in Sinnett's office, and managed to escape Griffin by slamming a door in his face and breaking his nose in two places. Fiona later returned his stolen belongings and apologized. After having a coffee with her, Griffin left prematurely, but stayed to listen to Fiona talking. Fiona was present during Griffin's investigation of Oliver Dawlish's murder. * '''Thomas Marvel - '''Griffin employed Marvel when staying in London, in order to spy on Jekyll and retrieve any information on him. After turning up dry, Griffin had Marvel perform a break-in to Jekyll's private quarters, and Marvel found Jekyll's ciphered notes. When Marvel demanded more money or he would inform Jekyll of Griffin's actions, Griffin staged a meeting at the Thames. Griffin turned Marvel invisible with a prototype compound, but when Marvel turned insane, Griffin pushed him into the Thames. ' ' * '''Oliver Dawlish - '''One of first Lodger's that Griffin meets, Dawlish is an astronomer who is researching constellations and planets. Finding that Dawlish holds the same beliefs and philosophies, Griffin became (oddly) friends with him. On a Saturday night, Dawlish fell from one of the balconies and died as soon as he hit the floor. ' ''' * '''Professor Edward Prendick - '''A cryptographer who Griffin hires to translate Jekyll's ciphered notes. After managing to find the keyword, Prendick translated the notes, but burned the translation in horror. Writing for Griffin to see him, Prendick lied to Griffin that the keyword was "Louis". Angered by Prendick burning the translation, Griffin took Jekyll's notes and left. After finding that "Louis" was not the keyword, Griffin attempted to see Prendick, but Prendick's secretary told him that the professor had taken a leave of absence. ' * [[Lewis B. Weir|'Lewis B. Weir']]' - '''A transcendental metaphysicist, who helps Griffin during Dawlish's murder investigation. Weir was, at first, genuinely helpful and willing to give Hawley a fair shake, but Griffin's actions at the Rose Vivante drove a rift between the two. They both share a mutual suspicion of one another, though often don't vocalize this. Despite this, Griffin supposedly holds a slight respect for Weir, possibly due to his profession. This did not, however, stop him from shooting Lewis when Weir stopped Hawley from attacking Kito Latro for no reason, nor did it prevent Griffin from re-opening Weir's wound at the restaurant, nor from attacking Lewis in the Society's greenhouse when Weir was crippled. Lewis views Hawley as his enemy and, were Griffin not a lodger, would have killed the man himself. Category:Characters